A Love Rekindles
by MWolfL
Summary: Larry, Wayne, and Magee are hanging out and Larry finds out about Wayne and Magee's past relationship and how they broke up. Wayne still feels bad and runs away. Can the others convince him to return? WayneXMagee
1. A Sweater Mistake

A.N. Some of the info mentioned in this story and my upcoming story I had actually gotten from the main website - like how Wayne and Magee had split up - so they're canon (unfortunately the site seems to be gone...but some of the info is on the Disney and Prep and Landing Wikis). The rest - like Wayne and Noel's grandmother - I made up and aren't canon.

It was late November, and Lanny and Wayne were hanging out at Magee's house for the afternoon. Santa had taken pity on Magee and let her have the day off, and since Prep and Landing elves don't get that busy (except for Christmas Eve) Magee had invited Lanny and Wayne over so that they could have a nice long chat. Magee often got so busy that she hardly had time to chat with Wayne or Lanny at all despite them being two of her closest friends.

At one point Wayne had gone into the kitchen to get a refill on cocoa...and to take a break from Lanny's peppermint cocoa. He was starting to get a rash from the smell.

"I still can't believe Wayne is allergic to peppermint." Lanny shook his head.

"It happens." Magee shrugged. "Some humans are allergic to chocolate."

"Even worse." Lanny winced. "So, forgive me for the personal question but how are things between you and Tiny? I overheard Wayne say something about that during my first mission."

"It's over. Ended not long after that Christmas actually." Magee said. "We decided it was too risky to continue dating."

There was a slightly-strict protocol about elf-dating: elves weren't allowed to date their assistants, partners, or secretaries. This was to avoid problems or distractions during work. Fortunately Magee and Tiny had been professional enough to keep their relationship a secret. Wayne in fact had only found out due to Magee telling him herself. They had been friends for so long that Magee knew him very well, meaning she knew that he wouldn't tell anyone, not even his brother. She didn't expect him to use it as blackmail though, but then again that particular Christmas had a lot of unexpected moments...

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Lanny said sympathetically.

"Don't be, there's was nothing really serious about our relationship. It was just a fling." Magee dismissed it; she then looked sad. "Still, it is kinda lonely not having anyone in my life."

"Well...what about Wayne?" Lanny suggested awkwardly. "You two seem to be pretty close-"

"It won't work." Magee interrupted. "We did date once, years ago, but ended it right after he gave me this horrible sweater."

"Horrible sweater?" Lanny was surprised to hear that. "But Wayne is actually really good at giving presents. I can't imagine him picking out a sweater with clashing colors or a weird pattern or anything."

"Well that particular Christmas he wasn't a good present giver. And the colors and pattern weren't what made it horrible. Actually it was a nice mix of green and red, with jingle bells along the cuffs and collar even." Magee frowned. "But the message...it read 'You Ful Col' of all things. Misspelled too! Either Wayne bought a plain sweater and knitted the words himself or he wrote it wrong on an order form but either way I was really offended."

"What?"

Startled, Lanny and Magee looked up and saw a surprised Wayne standing in front of them with a mug of cocoa.

"That's what the sweater read?" Wayne said, sounding very surprised.

"Well...yeah." It was now Magee's turn to be surprised. "You didn't know?"

"Of course not, when I got the sweater it had already been put into a box." Wayne explained. "You see...my grandma knitted that sweater. She was one of our biggest supporters and wanted to give you a gift that showed how grateful she was that you were dating me. However...she was on her deathbed at the time...I guess her eyesight was failing when she reached the message and stitched it on wrong..." Wayne now sounded as if he was about to cry.

"Your grandma..." Magee now felt bad; at that moment she remembered that Wayne's grandma, who had he always been close with, had died that same Christmas. "But then...what was the message supposed to read? Did she tell you?"

"Yeah...it was supposed to read 'You Wonderful Gal'." Wayne tried to fight his tears.

Magee now felt horrible.

"Oh sweetie...I'm really sorry." She said regretfully.

"Don't, it's not your fault." Wayne wiped an eye. "I'm the one who lashed out without thinking. I should've asked you why you acted so offended instead of yelled at you like I did. I...excuse me."

Wayne set his mug down on the coffee table and ran off.

"I can't believe we broke up over a stupid misunderstanding..." Magee groaned, burying her head in her hands.

"Should I go after him?" Lanny asked.

"No, sometimes when it comes to moments like this he needs to take a walk to clear his head." Magee sighed.

Wayne did take a walk...but only back to his snowmobile. He then drove back to his house still lost in thought. Don't worry, he was able to keep his mind on his driving at the same time.

"_Every time. Every time I lose my temper I hurt something...or someone._" Wayne thought. "_I almost hurt Timmy Terwelp and his Christmas, I hurt my brother when we went after that hacker...and now I find out that I hurt my relationship with Magee. No matter how hard I try I end up hurting someone. Maybe...maybe I just don't deserve anyone. I don't deserve Lanny's friendship, or Noel for a brother, or Magee. I don't even deserve my job. I don't deserve anything here._"

So, Wayne went inside his house, packed some essentials, and drove off. He kept driving...until he had entirely left the North Pole and was now amongst the mountains.


	2. Truths Revealed

The next day, Magee and Lanny decided to pay Wayne a visit. Magee didn't care that she was supposed to be at work, she really needed to see Wayne. She had something important to show him...and tell him. When they reached Wayne's house they found to their surprise that Noel was there.

"Noel?" Lanny said. "What are you doing here?"

"There aren't a lot of naughty kids this year so I have some free time." Noel explained. "I wanted to see if Wayne wanted to hang out like we used to when we were kids."

"I don't know if he'll want to, we had an awkward moment last night." Magee hung her head. "Remember the Christmas Wayne gave me that sweater?"

"How could I forget? I wasn't too happy about your reaction either." Noel frowned.

Magee winced, realizing that Noel also knew what the sweater was supposed to read but, like Wayne, had no idea of how it got messed up.

"Yes, well, I just found out from Wayne what the sweater was really supposed to read." Magee continued. "And Wayne had just found out that your grandma accidentally messed up the words."

Noel's face softened.

"Aw man...she was in really bad shape by the time she reached the lettering." Noel remembered. "So you're here to apologize or something?" He guessed.

"Something." Magee nodded. "I just hope he's feeling good enough to at least talk to us."

"We'll soon find out." Noel knocked on the door.

No answer.

Noel then rang the doorbell.

Still no answer.

"That's weird...maybe Wayne needed to take another walk." Lanny guessed.

"Maybe...or..." Noel loosened a brick on the front steps and found a key inside it.

"How did you know that was there?" Lanny asked.

"It was something Wayne and I came up with many years ago." Noel explained. "If one of us had to leave for a long time because of an emergency, the other could look after his house. Normally we'd leave a message on the phone first though...I guess Wayne figured you two would realize that he wasn't there and come get me or something."

Noel unlocked the door and the three of them went inside. Sure enough Wayne wasn't there, in fact the entire house was dark. They couldn't find a note anywhere downstairs, so they went upstairs to look for one. They found it, with three packages, on Wayne's bed. Lanny took the note and read it:

Dear Magee, Lanny, and Noel

After finding out the truth about the sweater I gave Magee I started thinking about my past and how my temper had hurt everyone, even nearly ruined Timmy Terwelp's Christmas. I realized that I don't deserve any of you or my job. I don't even deserve to be an elf. So, I've run away. I still care about all of you, and I hope you'll be okay without me. I know you'll miss me, but I can't risk hurting anyone else with my temper.

Lanny, you were the best partner I ever had and I hope your new partner will be a big help to you. Also I should've explained something to you years ago: remember how I acted like a Grinch at Timmy Terwelp's house our first mission together? Well, it wasn't just the thrill being gone that caused me to act like that. See at that time I had hoped and even expected to be promoted to Director of Naughty List Intelligence, but it went to my previous partner instead despite the fact that I had been working at Prep and Landing longer than him. However when I saw Santa the following morning he explained to me that he didn't promote me because I was irreplaceable. However I think he's wrong, I think Prep and Landing will do great without me. Maybe even better.

Noel, again I'm really sorry for the way I lashed out at you back when we teamed up to deal with Grace Goodwin. You see, I had been jealous of you for a long time. You may have been trying to be as good as me, but you ended up being better than me. Not a hard thing to accomplish either. So when you said you were going to win the Elf of the Year award I lost it because I was in running for that award too. I'm not that popular a guy, surprise surprise, and I had been hoping that winning the award would help me gain some popularity. It kinda worked, but not much, and now I see that I hadn't gained that much popularity because I don't deserve to be popular.

Magee, I have to tell you the truth: I still love you. When we had that fight I quickly realized that it could cause us to lose our friendship so I suggested that we stopped dating to preserve it. Breaking up did hurt, but losing your friendship would've hurt worse. I guess that's why I had also been trying so hard to gain so much popularity...I was trying to fill the hole in my heart. But who am I kidding? You're the only one who can fill that hole, and yet I don't deserve you. Even so you'll always be the most important girl in my life, so I've left you something to represent that. It's in the smallest package.

Again I'm sorry, but I had to leave. I still care about all of you and I'll always miss you, but I don't deserve any of you.

Wayne

Lanny was crying by the end of the letter. Noel and Magee were in tears as well. Magee then reached for the smallest package and opened it. Inside was a beautiful crystal snowflake ornament.

"That was grandma's favorite ornament." Noel nearly gasped. "She left it to Wayne in her will to remember her by."

Magee, even more upset, started crying as well.


	3. A Cold Situation

"We have to get Wayne back." Lanny sobbed. "He's wrong, he does deserve us. He does deserve to be a Prep and Landing elf too."

"You're right, and we are going to get him back." Noel frowned determinedly. "Come on!"

Magee and Lanny followed Noel to his Natale snowmobile, the one Wayne had wanted too. They then left, following the tracks Wayne's snowmobile had made. Fortunately it hadn't snowed the previous night, so they were able to follow the tracks out of the North Pole despite a few other tracks showing up.

Meanwhile, Wayne woke up. He had slept inside a cave during the night and was now preparing to continue his journey...but then he discovered that he had been snowed in. There must've been an avalanche or something the previous night.

"Oh frostbite...literally." Wayne quickly went to the entrance and started to dig himself out...

Noel, Lanny, and Magee continued their search, calling Wayne's name. Finally the tracks stopped near the cave. However they didn't know that there was a cave nearby, the avalanche had covered it up that well. All they knew was that Wayne's snowmobile - which was parked a few feet away from the cave and had just missed the avalanche - had been abandoned. They roamed around the mountain the cave was part of, still calling for Wayne.

Wayne couldn't hear them at first, but when he was at the last few layers of snow he did slightly hear them. However, he thought he was just hallucinating from the cold. Yes, by this point the cold was starting to get to him. He was weakening and feeling sleepy. He knew the dangers though, and so was trying his hardest to stay awake and escape. Finally he managed to make a hole in the wall, and that was when he found out that he wasn't hallucinating. He didn't have the strength to call to them, so he picked up a nearby piece of ice and tossed it through the hole. Fortunately it hit Noel's snowmobile and got his, Magee's, and Lanny's attention. Lanny, who was closest, went to the hole first.

"Wayne?" He said, looking through the hole. "Wayne! I found him, he's trapped!"

Noel and Magee rushed over and looked through the hole as well.

"Bro!" Noel said. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I'm just really c-cold." Wayne shivered.

"Stand back, I'm gonna axe you out." Noel raised his pick-axe. "Pick-axe you out that is."

Getting the snowdrift, Wayne stepped back. Noel mined out the snow until he was able to make it inside and help Wayne out.

"Th-thank you." Wayne said weakly. "I'm gl-glad you..."

"*Shh*, you shouldn't talk you're in bad shape." Noel noticed how cold Wayne looked. "Come on, we're taking you to the hospital to warm up."

Wayne didn't protest as Noel helped him into the Turbo snowmobile. Lanny used his Candy Cane Grappling Hook to attach Wayne's snowmobile to Noel's, he and Magee hopped into Noel's snowmobile, and Noel drove back to the North Pole. Lanny had also taken off his jacket and covered Wayne with it to keep him warm.


	4. Warmth Returns

Finally they reached the hospital and Wayne was taken in for a hot bath and a warm bed. Once the treatment was over Magee, Lanny, and Noel were allowed in. Wayne was looking much better but was still a bit weak.

"Wayne what were you thinking?" Noel said. "We read your letter and you're wrong, you do deserve us. You belong here with us Wayne."

"You even belong in Prep and Landing." Lanny was very emotional. "I don't want anyone else for my partner, I only want you. You're the best partner I'll ever have, and I'll only accept a new one after you retire in the far future."

"I'm sorry, it's just that nothing has gone right for me in decades." Wayne sighed. "I've never been able to do anything right either. Romance, missions...I mess up everything."

"But you fix everything you mess up." Noel pointed out. "Because you care that much. There's a difference between impulsive and uncaring."

"And caring about others is the most important part of any job or relationship." Lanny added.

Wayne couldn't help but smile at that.

"Now I know why your call sign is 'tree skirt'." He chuckled. "It's because you hide the flaws so that others can enjoy the real beauty of something...or someone."

Lanny blushed, touched by the compliment.

"Wayne..." Magee spoke for the first time; she hadn't before because she was internally rehearsing what she was going to say to him. "I read your letter."

Wayne's smile dropped. He only admitted that he still loved her because he never expected to see her again.

"I still love you too." Magee admitted.

Wayne dropped his mouth open and stared at her. Noel and Lanny were no less surprised, though they did look happy about it.

"Wh-what?" Wayne nearly stammered.

"I do." Magee confirmed. "That was why I agreed to breaking up, I didn't want to lose our friendship either. However breaking up hurt me as much as it hurt you. I guess that's why I've been so devoted to my job as the North Pole Christmas Eve Command Center Coordinator. Along with wanting every Christmas to be perfect for all the kids, I've also been using it to mask the pain I've felt ever since we broke up. My love for you is also why I still call you 'sweetie' and things like that."

"I-" Wayne was speechless. "I don't know what to say."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Noel remarked.

Wayne gave him an amused/annoyed smirk.

"Well it's true." Noel smiled back. "You've always had a problem putting your feelings into words...at least until you wrote that letter."

"Yeah, it felt good letting everything out." Wayne admitted. "Maybe from now on I should just write down how I feel and then drop the matter...especially since I know you guys aren't going to let me leave."

"Of course we aren't!" Magee held Wayne's hand. "Wayne, I let myself become late for work just to see you and then later dropped work entirely to look for you. Noel and Lanny weren't the only ones worried about you. We all care about you, and want you in our lives. Me especially. Now knowing the truth behind the sweater...well...I even want to try dating again."

Wayne was even more surprised. Noel just smiled and it was all Lanny could do to keep from cheering or crying...he didn't know which one to do anyway.

"You do? I mean I'd love that...but what if we have another fight?" Wayne said.

"We might, no relationship is perfect." Magee sighed. "But at least now we know that no fight, no misunderstanding, can stop us from loving each other."

"And if your love is that strong then it's definitely meant to be!" Lanny spoke up without thinking.

Wayne, Magee, and Noel stared at him, caught off-guard by that statement. Lanny put his hands over his mouth and blushed.

"Uh, sorry." He said awkwardly.

Wayne, Magee, and Noel then chuckled.

"I believe Lanny's right." Noel grinned.

Wayne and Magee smiled back and hugged. Magee then pulled away.

"Oh! I almost forgot: I wanted to show you this this morning." Magee opened her coat, revealing the 'insensitive' sweater.

Wayne dropped his mouth open again. The words 'You Ful Col' had been changed to 'You Wonderful Gal'.

"You fixed it." He said.

"I fixed it." Magee grinned. "I actually wanted to tell you that I still loved you this morning, and show you the improved sweater to prove it, but it had to be put off for obvious reasons."

"I..." Wayne was nearly speechless again. "I love you so much."

" I love you a lot too." Magee said before kissing him.

Wayne smiled, and then kissed her back.


	5. A Thistle In Their Side

So Wayne and Magee started dating again. Most of the elves were okay with this, with some being really happy about it (Magee's mom, Wayne's parents, Noel, and Lanny specifically). However there was one who wasn't so happy: Mr. Thistleton. He always had a crush on Magee and so was jealous that she and Wayne had started dating again. It wasn't long before he confronted Wayne about it either.

"How can you and Magee be dating again?" Mr. Thistleton frowned. "I mean what could she possibly see in you?"

"Beats the heck out of me." Wayne chuckled. "But I'm not going to look at this gift reindeer in the mouth."

"But...but I thought she loved me." Mr. Thistleton now looked really upset. "I mean, she did kiss me once..."

"But she never asked you out." Wayne shrugged. "However she wanted to try dating me again, and since I still love her I agreed."

"But what could you have to offer her? Did you invent anything? Did you create machines that have made every Christmas brighter than a Christmas tree? I mean kringle bytes! I have so much more to give her-!"

Wayne, tired of Mr. Thistleton's ranting, had hit him with a Sparkle Ornament. See Wayne had caught on to Mr. Thistleton's jealousy earlier and so decided to carry a few Sparkle Ornaments just in case. Obviously Mr. Thistleton fell asleep that very second.

"Have a nice afternoon nap, you'll need it." Wayne chuckled as he dragged Mr. Thistleton to a nearby bench. "I mean seriously, maybe I should give him a coupon to Spa Navidad this Christmas."

Later, he and Magee went on another date.

"Well, here's our third date of our second try." Wayne grinned as he raised his wine glass.

"Let's hope our second try lasts much longer." Magee chuckled as she tapped her wine glass to his.

"Me too, there apparently are some elves who would love to have a chance to go out with you." Wayne said, this time not joking.

"You ran into Mr. Thistleton earlier didn't you?" Magee guessed. "I figured he had a crush on me."

"Yeah...and apparently you kissed him once." Wayne added. "I mean I'm not jealous or anything, just...confused I guess. You never seemed to like the guy."

"I don't, he's too vain and boastful." Magee shook her head. "But the Christmas I kissed him...well, that was the same Christmas the Database Tree Farm nearly backfired and labeled every kid naughty. You see I was Mr. Thistleton's Secret Santa then. I had no idea what to give him, so when I caught onto his crush on me I just went 'what the heck' and gave him a kiss for his Christmas present. It was an early present, so I later sent him a note that said that he already got his present. Plus I guess I kissed him out of relief, since it happened after Christmas had been saved."

"Ah." Wayne smiled. "That makes a lot of sense. And as long as all your sincere kisses are for me I don't mind you kissing other guys. Especially if said guy happens to be under the mistletoe at the time."

"I'm glad you're more understanding than most other guys I've known." Magee smiled with relief.

"Well, it's not like you're property or anything." Wayne shrugged. "Besides, I don't want to risk hurting our relationship again."

"Me neither, not for anything in the world." Magee agreed.

They took a sip of wine, and then Wayne felt a question coming on. One he needed to ask.

"So, when I ran into Mr. Thistleton he asked what I had to offer you." Wayne said awkwardly. "And...I've been wondering that myself."

Magee looked at him with surprise...and then remembered that he had a low self-esteem problem.

"Sweetie, you should really stop this low self-esteem problem of yours." She said with a caring tone. "You really are a great guy deep down. Besides, you offer me a lot. Sincere love, fun, support, care...not to mention us dating again finally got my mom off my back about that." She added with a chuckle; Wayne chuckled too. "But seriously, even though I'm tired of you giving me advice on how to do my job I am grateful that you care that much about me. Plus the little talks we've had really help me when I'm having a stressful time...I think they help me even more than my eggnog lattes and that's saying something."

They both chuckled again.

"I really do want to be with you for a long time...maybe even forever." Magee admitted.

Wayne smiled.

"I want to be with you forever too." He admitted back. "You're the only thing that's ever made my life worthwhile. Not even Prep and Landing does that, though it does come close to it. And I promise not to give you anymore advice about your job...but can I still give you advice on how to relax?"

"Since you're only doing that out of concern for my health I'll allow that much." Magee grinned. "Just don't do it when it looks like I've got a headache."

"No problem, I have a better thing to do during that anyway." Wayne grinned back.

"Really? What?"

Wayne kissed the top if her head. Magee actually blushed a little.

"That...that actually does help." She admitted.

They both smiled at each other, ordered their food, and enjoyed the rest of their date. They enjoyed the many dates they had after that as well. And Mr. Thistleton? Magee explained to him what the kiss she gave him was really about. He was hurt, but got over it. So Magee and Wayne had nothing to worry about.


End file.
